No. 3 Wahoos Outlast Tar Heels, 4-2

Friday, March 8

Chapel Hill

5 PM

North Carolina

#3 Virginia

Will Jansen and Karl Poling

Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati

March 8, 2024 | Men's Tennis

Photo Gallery

By: Matt Bowers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— Third-ranked Virginia lost the doubles point but rallied for four singles wins and beat No. 30 North Carolina, 4-2, on Friday evening at the Chewning Tennis Center.

Carolina led by scores of 1-0 and 2-1 before UVA closed the match with three consecutive singles victories for the 4-2 team win.

The Cavaliers improved to 11-2 this season and 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Carolina saw its five-match winning streak come to an end and fell to 10-3, 2-1.

"Credit to Virginia, they played a good match," said Tar Heel head coach Sam Paul. "They're obviously a good team. I think we're getting better at doubles over the last month, and I like how we played in doubles tonight. I was pleased with our fight and our grit."

UNC won the doubles point, getting doubles wins at No. 1 from Phillip Jordan and Benjamin Kittay and at No. 2 from Will Jansen and Karl Poling.

Poling won the lone singles match of the night for the Tar Heels at No. 4.

"We had a good doubles point," Poling said. "We had good energy and got off to a good start. In singles, there were some small margins, times when we were one or two points away here and there from swinging things. We're getting better as a team and are going to make some big jumps over the rest of the season."

How It Happened
Doubles
• Virginia picked up the first doubles win of the evening at No. 3 when Inaki Montes and Dylan Dietrich downed Peter Murphy and Patrick Schoen, 6-3.
• The Tar Heels responded shortly thereafter at No. 1 when Kittay and Jordan upset the 24^th-ranked doubles team in the nation, Chris Rodesch and Jeffrey Von Der Schulenburg, 6-2. Kittay and Jordan picked up breaks to take a 2-1 lead and to widen its advantage to 5-2.
• In a back-and-forth match at No. 2, UVA's James Hopper and Edoardo Graziani led Jansen and Poling, 40-15 while serving with the score tied 5-all, but the Tar Heel duo rallied to win the deuce point and take a 6-5 lead. In the ensuing tiebreaker, Jansen and Poling took a quick, 3-1 lead and held on for the 7-4 win and the doubles point.

Singles
• Singles play featured four matches of ranked opponents. At No. 1, #9 Chris Rodesch met #56 Jansen. At No. 2, #38 Montes faced #125 Kittay. At No. 3, #61 Dietrich played #110 Jordan and at No. 4, #Von Der Schulenburg met #80 Poling.
• Rodesch beat Jansen in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, to tie the score at 1-1.
• Poling cruised to a 6-2 win in his first set at No. 4 against Von Der Schulenburg, then beat him 6-4 in the second set to give the lead back to Carolina at 2-1.
• Virginia tied the team score at 2-all with a win at No. 2 singles, where Montes beat Kittay, 6-2, 6-2.
• In the first set at No. 3 singles, Dietrich jumped out to a 3-0 lead and went on to a 6-2 win over Jordan. In the second set, Jordan picked up two breaks, including one for a 4-3 lead, before eventually falling in a second-set tiebreaker, 7-5, giving the Cavs a 3-2 lead.
• Alexander Kiefer won the clincher for Virginia at No. 5. Will Peters took the first set, 6-3, before dropping the second, 2-6. In the third set, Kiefer won, 6-0.

Virginia vs North Carolina
3/8/2024 at Chapel Hill, N.C. (Chewning Tennis Center)
#3 Virginia 4, #30 North Carolina 2

Singles competition
1. #9 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. #56 Will Jansen (NC) 6-3, 6-3
2. #38 Inaki Montes (VA) def. #125 Benjamin Kittay (NC) 6-2, 6-2
3. #61 Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. #110 Phillip Jordan (NC) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
4. #80 Karl Poling (NC) def. #72 J vd Schulenburg (VA) 6-2, 6-4
5. Alexander Kiefer (VA) def. Will Peters (NC) 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
6. Anuj Watane (NC) vs. Mans Dahlberg (VA) 7-6 (7-5), 4-3, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Benjamin Kittay/Phillip Jordan (NC) def. #24 Chris Rodesch/J vd Schulenburg (VA) 6-2
2. Will Jansen/Karl Poling (NC) def. James Hopper/Edoardo Graziani (VA) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Inaki Montes/Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. Patrick Schoen/Peter Murphy (NC) 6-3

Match Notes:
Virginia 11-4, 3-0 ACC; National ranking #3
North Carolina 8-4, 2-1 ACC; National ranking #30
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,4,2,3,5)
T-2:54 A-255